Well its been 1 week, 68 skiers/riders and 28 engine hours so I thought I'd give you the scoop on the 2005 PS 197. The big change is "fly by wire" throttle - no more throttle cable. Its a little tricky at first as it has a little less "feeling". Once used to it, its a dream especially with Perfect Pass. Even an idiot driver cannot over throttle.

The trailer is greatly improved - easy on/easy off even on tricky launch ramps. There are some new textures in the upholstery, which at first glance seem cool, but ultimately trap dirt.

The 05 boats now feature JL Audio for amps and speakers - This stuff is amazing. So clean - So Loud - It Just Rocks! Makes the Clarion stuff sound like complete trash.

Otherwise its pretty much the same boat as 04. There are some rumblings that the Power Slot ratio may be changed prior to towboat approval, but nothing has been set in stone. Personally, I think the slot has outlived its usefulness, considering the HP coming out of todays engines.

Excited for you, I have to wait till spring for mine. What color scheme do you have.. I seen the background behind the dash is now a textured metal, looks cool. Saw a new one at my dealer. Good Luck and enjoy and be safe.

Jim - It was great to meet a the tournament this weekend! The 2004 had the dealer decals on the bow - the 2005 was the blue flake stripe with the Turn Bouy Orange accent Stripe and Blue Bimini. I run the MCX with the PowerSlot - The same setup is in the 04 boat you saw at the event. The 05 seems to have more punch out of the hole though - they may have tweeked things out, as 04 was the first year for the MCX/Slot combo.

Gene - I have goinig with the Glacier White base for my hull the past two years (its the easiest to buff out scratches) My primary stripe is Canadian Blue Flake and the Secondary is Turn Bouy Orange. The interior accent is Turn Bouy Orange and the Bimini is Blue.

Bill - The major change is in the location of the bow cup or V-bunk - it has been moved back and lowered allowing the bow eye to easily pass over it. It also has a 1-1/2 inch gap between the bunk wings that allows the bow eye to pass between in the event of a very steep launch. The other bunks have been changed slightly to allow for esier on and off - previously the outside rear bunks and inside front bunks overlapped enough to cause considerable drag. There were many occurences of carpet tearing off of bunks in the last three model years. They also put on a very nice Fulton Crank in an atrractive plastic housing. The jack wheel is alson one of the nicer I have seen.